* South Korea’s nuclear regulator has approved the restart of the Hanbit No.2 nuclear reactor after conducting a safety test as the reactor was automatically shut down in late January due to a malfunction in its steam generator

* The 950-megawatt reactor is in a safe condition and we will keep checking the reactor’s condition, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said in a statement on Friday

* The restart will take the number of offline reactors to seven, according to state-owned Korea Hydro & nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHNP) website

* KHNP operates 24 nuclear reactors, which generate about a third of the country’s electricity (Reporting By Jane Chung)